-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The French season is already up and running and over the weekend the English Premier League returned to action , while Spanish clubs continue to prepare for the start of La Liga on 23 August . So who were the weekend 's winners and losers ?

Winners

Liverpool

No Luis Suarez ? No problem for Liverpool . In a tight Premier League opener against Southampton , the attacking talents who still remain at Anfield proved last season 's runners-up still have bite , despite the departure of English football 's least favorite Uruguayan .

Big things are expected of livewire Raheem Sterling and the England starlet continued the electrifying form he displayed at the end of last season . Latching onto a perfect Jordan Henderson through ball in the first half , he produced a calm finish to open the scoring .

But after Southampton equalized in the second half , it was Suarez 's former strike partner Daniel Sturridge who made the decisive contribution .

One half of the `` SAS '' duo that was so prolific last term , Sturridge steered home Sterling 's 79th-minute header to ensure Brendan Rodgers ' team opened with a 2-1 win .

Playing in just his 50th match for Liverpool , Sturridge scored his 36th goal . If Sturridge and Sterling keep firing , memories of Suarez will fade fast .

`` Vanishing spray ''

Consisting of 80 % water and 17 % butane gas , it 's an unlikely football icon .

But on its Premier League debut , `` vanishing spray '' was cheered to the rafters by supporters the length and breadth of England .

Used to great success at the 2014 World Cup , having long been a staple of South American football , the foamy substance is sprayed by referees to position players at set pieces .

English football is a late adopter of the pocket-sized innovation , but the country 's fans whooped and hollered like cavemen playing with a lighter every time a referee grabbed the canister from his waistband .

Not everyone is convinced , though . Arsenal 's Santi Cazorla swallowed a mouthful of the stuff after referee Jonathan Moss suffered a nozzle malfunction .

It might be hard for the Spaniard to stomach , but it looks like `` vanishing spray '' is here to stay .

Cristiano Ronaldo

The craze which has swept through the United States has made its way into football and , even though he did n't kick a ball this weekend , Cristiano Ronaldo rounds up our list of winners .

The Real Madrid star became the latest footballer to brave the `` ice bucket challenge , '' which began in North America as a way of raising money for the degenerative condition Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis -LRB- ALS -RRB- , also known as Motor Neurone Disease .

A host of celebrities have soaked themselves in icy cold water , and Ronaldo joined the likes of Mark Zuckerberg , Justin Timberlake and Conan O'Brien after being nominated by former Manchester United teammate Darren Fletcher .

Sat in a tiny purple speedo , Ronaldo nominated rapper Little Wayne as well as Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez before being drenched by fellow Portugal international Fabio Coentrao .

Over to you , J'Lo ...

Losers

Manchester United

How misleading can six pre-season wins be ? Manchester United 's 2-1 home defeat by Swansea on Saturday showed there will be no easy fixes for new manager Louis van Gaal .

The Dutch `` mad genius '' quickly had to rethink his 3-5-2 formation as Swansea exposed manifest weaknesses in United 's defence , while comfortably dealing with their ponderous midfield and stuttering attack .

More worryingly Saturday 's defeat highlighted the lack of investment in United 's squad over the last few years , a legacy bequeathed to former manager David Moyes by his predecessor Alex Ferguson .

The club 's owners have spared no effort in lining up myriad global sponsors -- official noodle and paint partners to name but two -- so it 's a shame more has n't been done to identify and rectify deficiencies in the playing staff .

Chief executive Ed Woodward has a matter of days left in the transfer window to improve United 's strength in depth but his track record of success -- or arguable lack of -- in bringing in new players is increasingly coming under the spotlight .

Monaco

Have Monaco lost their mojo ? After finishing second last season , Monaco is without a point after two games and Sunday 's 4-1 defeat at Bordeaux illustrates Ligue 1 's noveau riche club might struggle without James Rodriguez , who joined Real Madrid in the summer .

Two of those four goals came from penalties , which prompted Monaco 's new coach Leonardo Jardim to point the finger at referee Tony Chapron as a key factor in his side 's defeat .

`` We had two refereeing errors that sealed the match and after that there 's been no game . We must continue to work - we will continue to believe in these players , '' Jardim told reporters .

There was some good news for Jardim and Monaco in that Colombian international Radamel Falcao came on as a second substitute as he returns from the serious knee injury that ruled him out of the World Cup .

Brandao

Elsewhere in France , Bastia 's Brazilian striker Brandao could be in all sorts of trouble after the Corsican club 's 2-0 defeat by champions Paris Saint-Germain .

Thiago Motta suffered a broken nose after the game with CCTV cameras in the Parc des Princes tunnel showing Brandao waiting for the Italian international before the Bastia forward headbutted the PSG midfielder .

French secretary of state for sports Thierry Braillard told Franco Info the headbutt was `` scandalous '' and `` unacceptable '' and `` merited a sanction . ''

PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi went further , telling Canal Plus TV after the game that Brandao should be `` suspended for life ... he is not a football player . ''

France 's Professional Football League disciplinary committee is due to examine the incident on Thursday and , given the severity of the `` biting '' sanction handed out to Luis Suarez by world governing body FIFA , it will be interesting to what the French regulator does .

That was n't Brandao 's only impact on the match with PSG saying their Dutch defender Gregory Van der Wiel suffered `` a fracture of the second lumbar vertebra '' following a knee in the back in the first half . ''

Last season Brandao was suspended for four matches after elbowing PSG 's Yohan Cabaye at the Parc des Princes while playing for Saint-Etienne .

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Without Luis Suarez , Liverpool beat Southampton 2-1

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Vanishing spray proves hit with fans

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Louis van Gaal suffers losing league start as Manchester United manager

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Monaco without a point after two games in Ligue 1